1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an information storage medium with increased recording capacity achieved by securing as much of a data recording area as possible, and a method and apparatus for recording data on and/or reading data from the medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
An information storage medium is used in optical pickup apparatus that records and/or reproduces information in a non-contact manner. One type of an information storage medium is an optical disk, which can be classified into a compact disk (CD) and a digital versatile disk (DVD), according to information recording capacity. Types of optical disks on which data can be recorded, deleted, and reproduced, include a 650 MB CD-R, a CD-RW, and a 4.7 GB DVD+RW, and the like. Furthermore, an HD-DVD with a recording capacity of over 20 GB is currently being developed.
Demand for information storage media for mobile apparatuses is rapidly increasing. As such, research and development is being conducted to reduce the physical size of information storage mediums. However, there are a number of problems that need be solved in order to reduce the size of an information storage medium, such as compensating for a decrease in the recording capacity due to the smaller size.
FIG. 1A illustrates a layout of a data area in a conventional information storage medium. The conventional information storage medium includes a burst cutting area (BCA) area 10, a lead-in area 15, a user data area 20, and a lead-out area 25.
The lead-in area 15 can include a control data area 15A, an optimal power control (OPC) area 15B, and a disk information area 15c, and the lead-out area 25 can be formed as a buffer area. Also, a non-use area 26 that is made to be unusable in the disk manufacturing process is formed near the outermost perimeter of the information storage medium.
In the control data area 15A, non-variable information, such as a disk size, a version number, and the number of recording layers, is recorded as reproduction-dedicated data. This reproduction-dedicated data is recorded as pits or wobbles. When the reproduction-dedicated data is recorded as wobbles, the data occupies a larger recording area and reproducing it takes more time than when it is recorded as pits.
FIG. 1B illustrates a layout of control data areas disposed both in a lead-in area 15 and a lead-out area 25. In the lead-out area 25, a buffer area 25A and a control data area are disposed.
As the number of control data areas in which reproduction-dedicated data is recorded, or other-purpose areas, disposed in the lead-in area increases, the recording capacity of the user data area decreases. Accordingly, ongoing reduction in the size of the information storage medium necessitates a reduction in the size of the lead-in area and/or the lead-out area.